Mr Nobody
by BloodyMarryMe
Summary: Before the Kira case, L had another serial killer to catch and to do it he needed a help of a certain quirky private investigator. L and Celity need to work together if they want to solve this case. But how do you catch a man that doesn't exist?
1. Chapter 1

"**Mr. Nobody" **by **BloodyMarryMe**

Hello everyone! ^^This is my first Death Note story ever so I'm really excited. :D This is about a case L was working on before the Kira case with an OC of mine. I wanted to really try my best and picture how these two detectives solve this crime with lots of deduction and thinking. I don't want it to be one of those crime stories where you don't know what's going on until suddenly the detective has an AHA effect and he suddenly figures everything out, out of the blue, or where they suddenly reach a conclusion and nobody knows how they got to that. So I wanted to show how L and the OC have to actually think about everything, take everything into account and use their knowledge to solve the case. And I won't make it easy for them either. ;)

So without further ado, I present to you; the first chapter! I hope you enjoy it everyone!

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

It was exactly 10:34 in the morning on July 24th when a doorbell rang in an apartment situated somewhere in western part of London.

A voice moaned groggily from under the bed covers as the form beneath them stirred a little. The doorbell didn't stop however and remained its loud ringing noise throughout the apartment.

„Aaargh..Alright, alright already!" The figure that was under the covers sat up, revealing a young woman in her early twenties. Her sleepy eyes were still half closed and she sluggishly looked around her room. The doorbell was still insisting and the woman was slightly getting annoyed. She stood out of bed and stretched then walked lazily towards the door. She didn't even bother putting any more clothes on and stayed in her black women's boxers and a black T-shirt. She looked at the peephole on the door and sighed at what she saw on the other side, but unlocked and opened the door nevertheless.

On the other side was a young constable dressed in their usual blue uniform and he had a surprised look on his face when he saw the woman dressed like that. There was a slight blush on his cheeks and for a while he didn't know what to say so he just looked sideways and away from the sight. It's not like it was a bad sight though. The girl was young, well-built and beautiful with her long, straight black hair and light blue eyes that had the color of ice itself. The color was appropriate since her sharp eyes really seemed like piercing ice sometimes when she would stare at people. Her stare could be quite deadly sometimes, the constable knew that much. That was probably why he restrained himself and didn't comment anything but looked away; he didn't want to be subjected to that icy glare she could give him. She seemed in a grouchy mood enough as it is.

However, the woman completely ignored his embarrassment and showed nothing of that emotion as she just raised an eyebrow at him and asked sarcastically; "What's wrong this time Jackie-boy, can't find your way back home?" She asked with a small smirk in a typical British accent. The girl was in a bad mood. She was always in a bad mood first thing in the morning when she woke up and what better way to relieve it than teasing her old acquaintance. She could already guess why he was here, though. There was only one reason he would be.

The young man looked at her with annoyance as he heard the nickname she would always call him with. "It's Jack…just Jack." He corrected and glared at her. "The inspector wants to see you. And put some decent clothes on already, Celity…"

The woman named Celity grinned at the policeman's reaction but turned around and got ready without a word. When she got dressed she put on her long black coat and 15 minutes later the woman and the constable headed for their destination; Scotland Yard.

~….~

Okamura Celity wasn't a world-known and famous detective nor did she want to be. Her work area was strictly England, which was also her home for the past 13 years and she didn't need to expand it nor did she want to become more famous or popular in the detective world. Why? Because she simply had no reason to. Celity didn't consider herself a bad person but neither was she particularly good. She had no honorable notions of perusing justice and ridding the whole world of evil or becoming some hero for the masses. So why was she currently working as a private investigator, which she had been doing for the past 3 years? Because it was fun. It was as simple as that; she wanted to do something exciting, something interesting and thus she chose this profession. She was a fickle person to be honest. A person who thought a life was just a game and the most important thing in it was having fun while playing. This private investigator game she was currently playing was just her current interest that could change tomorrow and she would play with something else. However, even in only 3 years of work, Celity's skills were able to attract the eyes of the England police and they would sometimes ask for her help in solving some more difficult cases. That was the good part of being a private detective instead of one working directly for the police; you could choose which cases and which clients you will take. If the case wasn't interesting or was too easy to solve, Celity didn't even take it. However, the cases the police would ask her help with were usually interesting and made her put her little gray cells to good use. Those were the kinds of cases that were a little too much for the police to handle but still not big enough for L to take on. The world's greatest detective L was known for also only taking cases he was interested in but usually those cases were such that involved at least a million dollars or 10 lives at stake. So when the situation was such that Scotland Yard had a serious case of a serial killer on the loose or a kidnapping but was reluctant to use L since he was the "trump card" or "last resort" if you will, in those situations Celity would come into play. Celity didn't mind at all; as long as the case was interesting she was fine with it. She never had any desires to surpass L or prove herself to anyone. The truth was she didn't have any special thoughts on L, though he seemed interesting to her of course. He was obviously very intelligent and his mysteriousness was intriguing. Surely, he would be a fun challenge for her if they ever end up on opposite sides but other than that, to Celity, L was just a faraway figure that didn't concern her. At least that's what she thought at the moment.

~….~

Jack and Celity finally arrived in front of the police station and she instantly recognized the man in his late forties standing there impatiently and waiting. It was none other than the chief inspector of Scotland Yard; Eugene Clove. Every now and then he would look at his wristwatch nervously. When the couple walked closer the man spotted them and quickly walked over.

Celity's sharp eyes quickly noticed the slight redness in his eyes, the uncombed hair and the unshaved beard that looked about 3 days old. He was obviously nervous and sleep-deprived. This just made Celity even more certain that there was a new case for her, because inspector Clove obviously had some problems with it.

"You're finally here." He seemed in an even worse mood than she was this morning. Luckily, with time Celity was able to lighten up hers. She was completely refreshed and ready to start the day. On the other hand, Clove looked like he was ready to die of exhaustion any second now.

"So what do you have for me this time?" Even though she said that, Celity had a good guess about the case the police was working on. She read it in the newspapers already. Three dead bodies and it's only been 18 days since the first murder. The Press said the police couldn't find the connection between the first two victims that were found together and the third one but there seems to be something connecting them after all. In both cases there were no fingerprints of the culprit, no witnesses, absolutely nothing. Yet all three victims were brutally murdered.

"Come with me. We'll talk in the car, on the way there. You probably already know what this is about." Inspector Clove answered, still slightly nervous as he walked over to one of the police cars. Jack took the driver's seat while Celity and Clove sat in the back.

When the car started moving Celity turned to Clove. "I have a pretty good guess. You should've called me earlier."

"Don't start with me, Okamura. You know my superiors don't even like it that you're helping the police. They say outsiders should stay out of police business; especially private detectives." Clove explained the warning.

Celity knew that well already and it wasn't surprising. The police can't just announce that they're unable to solve the case themselves and need outside help, especially from a private investigator. And Celity always seemed suspicious to them. She wasn't surprised about that either. She suddenly appeared out of the blue, 3 years ago, and solved the serial murders case of Doctor Sawbones; that's the nickname the public gave him and it's easy to understand why. Of course they checked her background but found nothing out of the ordinary. Of course that doesn't mean there was nothing there, it just meant the police wasn't able to find it. Why she became a private detective and why she was playing this game was something only she knew but that was a story for later, because they arrived at the crime scene.

It was 12:05 afternoon when they reached the small apartment in Soho where the fourth victim lived. The woman's name was Loren Bleak, 34 years old, single and living alone. She had no living family but had a few close friends. One of them found the victim after the woman came to see Loren, the doors were unlocked but there was quite a surprise waiting for Loren's friend in the living room. The victim died yesterday on the 23rd, somewhere between 10pm and 1am. Again, no witnesses and no fingerprints or any other clues that could help the police.

"There are no signs of breaking and entering nor any signs of struggle. Just like the victim before that." Clove said as he looked over Celity's shoulder and down at the victim. Celity noted he didn't say anything about the first case where there were two dead bodies but that was because they were done slightly different. Celity read through the files and saw the pictures of the previous murders in the car over here.

Celity was crouching next to the victim, examining carefully with her eyes, not touching anything to avoid compromising the crime scene. *_Hm, indeed, there aren't any traces underneath her fingernails.* _Celity hummed as she looked at the wounds. The woman had at least 5 stab wounds around her chest area. The stab wounds looked deep and big as if the killer drove the knife in with all their might. *_Perhaps it was a crime of hatred. It looks like he put a lot of emotion into it. With such strength, the killer is probably a man.* _

However Loren Bleak also had a slit throat, which was enough to kill her. So why go to the trouble of stabbing her five times when she already died from the cut on her throat? Once again the idea of some kind of revenge or hate executed by the murderer crossed Celity's mind. In her mind she connected the information with the files on other victims she read in the car. The first two who died together; were a woman and a man, both in their middle twenties. The woman died of only one stab wound in the heart which is different from the rest of the victims, the man, her boyfriend, from 5 stab wounds in the same way as the rest of the victims. Celity had a strange feeling about that first case, but left it for later and pictured the second file in her mind. A man in his fifties, family man, sociable and with a lot of friends, a simple salary man, died by stab wounds again; two in the chest and three in the stomach. *_Again the same number five.*_ She closed her eyes and all the pictures from the scene and the victims started appearing in her mind. She fixated on the stab wounds in her head. All of them were similar and done with a lot of strength but certainly not by some professional. They all had that emotional streak in them.

"We'll get more information after the forensics and pathology reports." Clove said to her, bringing her out of her thoughts before he was called away by one of the officers.

Celity opened her eyes and just nodded but stayed focused on the body, trying to find any clues that would be useful. She looked at the victim's face; there was a clear shock written all over it as wide eyes stared into space. _*There were no signs of breaking and entering...so maybe Loren knew her killer? But it's still too early to conclude that. If it was someone she knew and if the other victims were killed by the same person they would have probably knew the killer too…Clove said there was no sign of breaking and entering in any of the murder scenes but then they would surely find the connection between them. They'd find the person they all knew but there was no such person. The four victims all lived in different areas of London, they didn't know each other nor had any common acquaintances, even their social statuses are different…they had absolutely nothing in common.*_ Celity's mind was full of thought and possibilities but she saved them for later. Right now she'll examine the rest of the small flat and try to find something useful.

The detective woman stood up and walked over to the front doors. She wanted to retrace every step Loren Bleak took before she died. Loren had apparently come home, took a few steps into the living room and then was attacked before she could even turn on the lights. _*The killer could've snuck behind her in the dark. First grab her, make a clean cut on her throat.*_ Celity imagined the scene as she walked next to the body. She held a pen in her hand and crouched down next to the victim's head, then moved Loren's hair a bit with the pen. *_There's a head trauma, it doesn't look that serous though. Probably from falling down. And yet the killer stabbed her when she was already on the ground. I'll have to wait for the pathology reports but I have a feeling the stab wounds will be post mortem. The woman was probably already dead when the killer stabbed her.*_

Celity then proceeded to examine the rest of the room, carefully avoiding the police officers that were walking and doing their own work around. They were annoying her a bit and she wished she had the privilege of examining the scene before they'd come and maybe even accidentally destroy some evidence, which happened on some rare occasions. The police could sometimes be more of a hassle than a help to her; that's why she liked working alone the best. Her own rules and her own way of doing things, that's what she liked. However she knew there was no way she could make that happen. Scotland Yard still considered Celity an outsider, a suspicious outsider.

The woman finally ended her examination of the house by going to the last room; the person's bedroom. She opened the closets and drawers but didn't find anything special except that everything was neat and tidy, perfectly put in their place. Loren Bleak was a bit of a perfectionist, it seems. Celity noticed a big dresser at the wall across the foot of the bed. She walked to it and looked at the things on it. Make up, subtle colors appropriate for Loren's age. Three perfumes. Celity opened one and smelled it. She never really liked perfumes, they were all too strong and unnatural to her. She waited for a bit so that her sense of smell returned and opened the other one then smelled that one as well. Once again she stopped and smelled the last one. The last one wasn't as subtle as the other two; it was actually stronger and sweeter. Something a younger person would wear. Celity scrunched up her nose, she couldn't help it. She was getting dizzy from all of those scents.

"The coroners are taking away the body. Are you done?" Clove came in the bedroom suddenly.

"Yeah…I searched the whole house but didn't find any clue or message left by the killer." Celity wasn't satisfied with it at all but later she'll take all the files and info she has and think about the whole case. For now there was nothing more to do here.

"We probably won't find any fingerprints or DNA from the killer either…How is there absolutely no sign of him afterwards? It's like the bastard is a ghost!" Eugene's nervousness was rising in level.

"Don't start heading into the paranormal just yet." Celity had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. "Besides, we should wait for the results first. In the meantime…"

Clove looked at her expectantly, hoping to hear some good news from the private detective. His wishes weren't met, however…"

"Breakfast!" Celity exclaimed suddenly, finishing her statement. "Come on, I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything yet all day!" She clapped her hands and pushed inspector Clove out of the room and the apartment with a grin on her face.

"huuh?! How can you think of food right now?!" Eugene wanted to protest but Celity was still pushing him onwards.

"Food is essential! My brain cells need energy after all, I can't work on an empty stomach." She stated matter-of-factly with her index finger in the air to strengthen her point. "And that means it's your treat!" She said grinning again as she headed with the inspector to the nearest diner.

"Wha-? Ha? How is that even connected!?" Inspector Clove kept protesting but his complains fell on deaf ears as Celity continued on looking for a diner or a small restaurant though she was careful to pick one with few people and enough room to talk privately.

~…..~

Clove sighed as he wiped his slightly sweating forehead with a handkerchief. "I'm getting too old for this…"

"Oh, don't retire on me now. I won't have any connection with the police then and I won't get so many interesting cases anymore. It'll just be plain old boring looking for stolen noblemen's jewels and solving missing cases that are actually politicians disappearing on a vacation with their mistresses." Celity rolled her eyes at the thought or rather the memories of her cases. She cut up another piece of her pancake covered in chocolate syrup and ate it happily.

"Oh sorry, I wouldn't want _my_ retirement to inconvenience _you_." Clove answered with narrowed eyes and a slightly tired expression as he stared at Celity.

"I knew you'd understand." The girl retorted with a grin, completely ignoring his sarcasm as she continued eating her breakfast. Her side of the table was filled with food; eggs and bacon, sausages, sandwiches, toast with marmalade, pancakes, ice-cream…

Clove had no idea where she put all that food, especially since she was completely lean and well-built. What unnerved him even more was the fact that he was paying for all of it. The girl didn't even eat in any order but kept mixing sweets and salty foods together, taking a bit of her bacon, then eating a scoop of ice-cream. "You know, if you continue like this you'll definitively start getting fat once you pass 30…" That was all he could say as he looked at the girl's apatite. On his side there was only a cup of black coffee.

"Hmm…So I still have a lot of time left. But I appreciate your worry, old man." Celity answered and took a bite of her scrambled eggs. Clove twitched at the 'old man' part even though he himself often said he felt like one. But still, being called that by this youngster was just too irritating.

Eugene cleared his throat and decided to change the subject on more important things. "More importantly, have you found any clues about the case?" He didn't expect much since even Celity couldn't just solve everything from looking at one crime scene but he knew her well enough to know she already had some opinions of her own. He had worked with her on several cases in these past three years and Clove knew Celity's intellectual abilities were quite outstanding both in deduction or even profiling people. His higher ups didn't trust her much but he knew he could, that's what he learned. Celity and inspector Clove already formed a bond of trust on at least some level even though it was far from perfect. Now if only she wasn't so sarcastic and infuriating sometimes…*_I guess a brat is still a brat, even if they are a smart one.*_

"After observing Loren Bleak and the pictures of other victims I think we can safely say it was all done by the same person." Celity stated it simply and took another bite of her food.

Inspector Clove sighed. "That's what I feared. This means we have a serial killer on our hands here."

"So it seems." Once again a simple and emotionless reply. Celity didn't look nervous or worried at all. But then again, she didn't have superiors pressuring her to solve this case as soon as possible like Clove did. "The killer is probably male, judging by the strength of the stabs, but I suppose you already knew that. Certainly not a professional; he does this for some emotional reasons. You won't find any fingerprints though, he's very careful but hardly a perfectionist, judging by the way he kills." Celity took a pause for breath and another bite of food. She patiently waited to chew and swallow though she could see inspector Clove was getting impatient, waiting for her to continue, not that she cared though. "I want to go to the first murder scene next." She exclaimed after finally swallowing her food and helping herself with a glass of juice.

"I expected you to say that. Still, everything we have on that case is already in that file I gave you. There was no message or clue to help us. Of course, no witnesses or fingerprints or any DNA either; only of Jessy Stue and her boyfriend, Tony Rolling.

"The first ones are always important." Celity brought her index finger up in the air again before taking the file of the first murder and opening it. It seems she had no problem with looking at pictures of bloody corpses while she was eating. The couple was found in Jessy Stue's apartment. It was an old, run down building in a shady part of town. The neighborhood was known for its high crime rate since only the poor lived there. The neighbors in the apartment called the police a couple of times already because of the racket or fighting between Jessy and her boyfriend. There were obvious sign of domestic violence but nobody in the building cared. It wasn't an unusual thing there and people all minded their own business there. Celity wasn't surprised by that mentality. The killing was done around 1am on July, 6th and the bodies were discovered the next morning by the landlady. Jessy had fresh bruises but those were proven to be done by her boyfriend. The murder weapon was Jessy's own kitchen knife but there weren't any fingerprints on it. The murder weapon in other cases wasn't found. Indeed a lot about this first murder was different than the rest. Jessy had one hard stab through the heart, then with the same knife Tony was killed but by 5 stab wounds in the chest. There was also a head trauma on Tony's head in the back, done by a metal vase that was found on the floor. No fingerprints on the vase either.

"The truth is, Jessy Stue was in a shady profession. It seems she had a lot of guys up in her apartment." Clove started.

"A prostitute?" Celity asked though it was already obvious. Once again her voice didn't contain any surprise as if the whole situation was the most normal thing in the world.

"Yes. That would explain if the jealous boyfriend killed her but he was actually her pimp." Clove sighed and shook his head.

Celity sighed and rolled her eyes. "Such cliché. Then perhaps it was one of the clients who killed Tony Rolling?"

"Yes, I considered that possibility and already ordered my men to find out all of Jessy's clients. But it was rather foolish of her to meet all those suspicious men alone in her apartment. It's like she was asking for it. I feel bad for the poor girl though." Clove sighed again as he looked at the picture of the murdered woman.

"Yes, it's very unfortunate." Celity answered but her voice held no emotion. It sounded like she said that only because it was expected from her to say it as a human being.

Then something caught Clove's attention. "Wait, you said the client could've killed Tony Rolling. Don't you mean, Tony _and_ Jessy?"

Celity completely ignored Clove's question as she stared at the pictures of the crime scene. Instead she went to more important matters that interested her. "Was Tony Rolling left or right handed?"

The question surprised the inspector but Celity just stared at him with those ice-blue eyes, waiting for the answer. "Uh...right handed I think. Why?"

"Hnn…" Celity tapped the fork she was holding on her bottom lip. "The autopsy report says there's a slight tilt to the left in Jessy's stab wound and it was done from above. The killer was right handed then, no?" Celity took the knife in her right hand from her plate and reversed it so the tip was pointing downwards, then she slowly went towards Clove's chest with the knife, aiming for the heart. The scene aroused a few customers as they watched in confusion and slight discomfort the couple sitting in the far booth. It looked like Celity was preparing to kill the inspector. Even Clove looked a bit surprised and very uncomfortable when she went at him with the knife.

The girl ignored the odd look and Clove's expression as she stopped the knife right at Clove's heart. "See. There's a slight tilt to the side. It would actually be quite hard to stab a person through the heart from above in a completely straight line."

The inspector blinked but then pulled himself together. He was glad when Celity pulled the knife away. "But that could've been accidental. He could've tilted the knife on the other side just as easily."

"That would be completely unnatural. Why would anyone kill like this-" With that said Celity once again took the knife in her right hand and tilted the handle to the left. "The force of the stab wouldn't be very strong either from that position and the stab wound would be less deep."

"So you're suggesting Tony killed Jessy? But then who killed Tony? Did they kill each other?!" That was hard to believe since Tony died after Jessy. "Did he kill himself after killing his girlfriend?"

"Impossible. He'd be out of strength after the second stab, the other three wouldn't be so deep even if he was able to do them." Celity answered. "But yes, I'm saying Tony killed Jessy and then someone killed him. The same person who killed the second victim, Roy Mungler and the third, Loren Bleak." Celity suddenly stood up surprising both Clove and the other customers. "Well then, let us go. No time to waste; chop chop!" She didn't even wait for the inspector as she headed out of the diner.

~…..~

Somewhere on Manhattan, New York, stood a 30 story-high hotel. There was nothing strange about it; just one of those over-priced, fancy hotels where numerous Stars and other VIPs rested when they were in town. Right now it was rumored that Honoda Taro, a famous Japanese model and actor, stayed in this hotel but of course the Press or fans were forbidden to enter and nobody could see him. He was elusive as a person would expect from a famous Star who wanted their privacy. Still it seemed his manager booked the whole 15th floor for their use where nobody was allowed to enter. Even the hotel staff was required to get permission before entering. There were security cameras and intercoms around for conversing. Still, even though nobody saw Honoda Taro, they saw all the money that was coming to the Hotel's account, which was enough for them not to doubt that fact. And true enough, if you wrote Honoda Taro in Google you'd find several Japanese fan sites and profiles of this famous person. Nobody would ever suspect that Honoda Taro didn't actually exist. That he was just a product of a well-planned scheme to hide the real reason why the whole 15th floor of the hotel was reserved. And the reason was that currently this hotel was being used as temporally headquarters by a world's most famous detective, L and his loyal partner Watari. Of course nobody knew L was here, not even the staff or the owner of the hotel. Everyone were so concerned about making the hotel look presentable for the famous Honoda Taro that nobody paid attention to Watari who would sometimes leave the hotel or L who stayed on that floor in one of the rooms, filled with computer screens and technology that was helping him in his work. Nobody even saw him except when he was entering the hotel for the first time since the detective had no reason to leave his room. He had everything he needed right here to keep solving crimes all over the world. Still, the cooks might have thought it strange at least once since they were ordered to make lots of different kinds of sweet food for Honoda Taro every day. Every day a staff member of the hotel would bring carts of cakes and sweet snacks to the 15th floor and leave it there for Watari, posing as Taro's personal butler, to pick it up.

Why was this hotel currently L's headquarters? Because of the last case L was working on. An organization was kidnapping children, then selling them to people who wanted to adopt for big money. The adoption process was very long and it wasn't easy to get to adopt a child, especially for a single person, so lots of people went to this organization instead. For the right price of course. The children were still very young and were given completely new identities so after a few years they wouldn't even remember their old lives. They were usually taken all over the USA so it was hard to track them down once they disappeared. After years of countless children being taken from their homes, L finally put a stop to it and found the organization leader; a man who was thought to be dead to begin with. Unfortunately the organization was so big and working all over the USA it would be impossible to find all the culprits and members. The network was such that even the members who worked in separate towns didn't know of each other's identities and they would move to another town after they kidnapped a child from one place. Still, even that kind of perfectly formed organization wasn't able to escape L's sharp eyes and intelligent mind. He was able to connect a few dots, track a few members and finally trace it all to the source.

However if one saw that brilliant detective right now, they could hardly believe we are talking about the same person. Just the appearance of L was enough to fool anybody, with his washed-out jeans and plain white shirt with long sleeves. He was hardly looking professional in that outfit and barefoot. The detective spun around in his chair like a child playing and every now and then he would stop to type something on the computer's keyboard before continuing to spin around again. There were numerous papers and thick files all around him. He decided to stay a few more days and use this as headquarters to solve a few other bigger crimes in the USA since he was already here. To L it didn't really matter on which continent he was since he was solving crimes and mysteries all over the world from his room but sometimes it was easier to work in the city where the case was happening.

L pushed a button and was connected to the FBI. "This is L. I've solved the Washington case of the assassinations of the politicians. I'm sending you the evidence now." With a few more buttons pushed, yet another case was solved. He looked over the big pile of files and papers in the middle of the room. Those were all the cases he solved today. He took the latest solved case and tossed it on the big heap. Luckily it didn't tip over. L then pushed with his leg against the table and the chair rolled with its wheels to the table across his computer system. On it was a chocolate cake and next to it a strawberry one. The young man put his index finger against his mouth, pressing his lower lip, seemingly in thought as he was deciding which cake to eat next. Just then a sound was heard behind his back and one of the monitors showed a white screen with a letter W in the middle.

"L." Watari was currently in his own room, searching for more cases that would suit L and it seemed he found one.

"What is it Watari?" L turned to look at the screen.

"I'm sending you another case that could interest you. For now it's only 4 victims but it might interest you." It's true that L took cases where there were at least a million dollars involved or 10 people's lives at stake but he also took the cases that interest him no matter what the body count was. If Watari decided to send it to him then there could be something interesting about it.

"Hmm. Alright." L muttered as if to himself instead of Watari. He took the strawberry cake and lifted the plate above his head then pushed against the table with his bare foot again. The chair traveled back to the computer system and L stopped it with both feet up and resting against the edge of the desk. He was still holding the cake above his head and he lowered it to his mouth to lick off the frosting on top. With his free hand he pressed the button to open the file Watari just sent him.

Different pictures and files listed on all the monitors and L quickly went through all of them. He was able to read all the reports on each victim, read all facts and examine all pictures in less than ten minutes. He took his fork between the thumb and the index finger and stabbed the cake with it. He kept stabbing it a few more times absentmindedly as he looked at the pictures before taking a slice of the cake and putting it into his mouth.

"Hmm…The killer obviously isn't a professional yet he manages to get rid of all the evidence and clean up perfectly. He never leaves any trace of himself except on the victims." He said with his mouth still full once again only muttering to himself though he knew Watari was still on the line waiting for his response. "There wasn't a message on any of the scenes left by the killer but…the harsh stab wound, always five, that seems like a message itself…But what is he trying to say….?"

"Jessy Stue only died of one stab wound in the heart." Watari said through the microphone in a calm voice.

L shook his head. "She was killer by her boyfriend. The killer we're looking for only killed three victims…for now." L was able to deduct that Jessy wasn't one of the killer's victims in less than a minute. He wasn't the world's greatest detective for nothing.

"I see. So you think the killer will strike again?" Watari asked.

"Yes. The probability for it is about 99..no, 98%. There's always a possibility something will happen to the killer before he manages to kill again." L took another bite of his cake, then licked the remaining frosting that was stuck on the fork. "Who is the chief of this investigation?"

"The chief inspector of Scotland Yard, Eugne Clove." Watari answered.

"Ah yes, I've worked with him before." On several occasions when L was mobilizing the Scotland Yard he was giving instruction directly to inspector Clove over the phone or laptop. Of course his voice was always synthetic and the laptop only showed the white screen with the big letter L in the middle.

"Also…" Watari started.

"Hn?" L was just about to put another piece of cake in his mouth but he stopped with his fork in the air and his mouth opened when Watari spoke again. *_There's also someone else besides the Scotland Yard?* _

On one of the monitors appeared a new profile. A woman's face stared back at him. She had a slight smile that almost looked amused though it was hard to say why. She had long black hair and big, light blue eyes that seemed to pierce through the one taking the picture. Underneath was the woman's profile:

Okamura Celity. Age: 23 years old. Working as a private detective for 3 years. Her mother was Japanese but her father British. They moved from Japan to England, Manchester, when Celity was 10 years old. In the profile it said that both her parents were deceased by unfortunate circumstances. It didn't say which though L could find out in about 2 minutes if he wanted to but for now he didn't need to know. Celity became an orphan with no living family at the age of 13. After that it said she lived in the Oakman house, an orphanage, went to a regular high school than to the Police training Academy while studying criminal justice. While still in school she opened a private detective agency where she works even now after graduating college. She never worked directly for the police only helped them in some cases, which was the only thing that seemed slightly unusual but still, nothing suspicious. But then why was the police willing to ask for help a private investigator, an outsider?

L put the plate down as he finished his cake, then pressed his thumb against his mouth, plying with his lower lip. She didn't seem unusual or special at all yet she seemed to come out of nowhere and suddenly helped the police.

Watari's voice was heard from the speaker. "The first case Okamura Celity worked with the police on was the serial killings of Dr. Charles Clerence who worked as a professor in medical college in London. He was apprehended and charged on killing 10 people. He was kidnapping homeless people and people without family or friends, that nobody would look for or report them missing. The public called him Dr. Sawbones because of the way he killed and experimented on his victims. Okamura Celity was able to solve the case and get evidence for his arrest. She also worked on the kidnapping of the Prime Minister's daughter who was held for ransom. There were a few other cases as well but I believe those two were the biggest." The old man ended his explanation.

L was still in the same pose, sitting on his chair with his legs on it and his knees close to his chest. He was still holding a thumb on his lips as he murmured. "Okamura Celity…She seems capable enough. She could be our link to the outside and the case this time." L still found it a bit strange how she suddenly appeared three years ago and started helping the police. However, he didn't find that vital at the moment. He was still considering whether to take the case or not. To be honest there weren't many big cases at the moment, nothing the police couldn't handle this time. And he was a bit interested in this killer. The killer who seemed to kill like an amateur but moved and escaped the police like a professional. Never any witnesses or clues. Not even a glimpse of him on any security cameras. Still, L was 68% sure he was dealing with the man due to the facts left behind. There was also no connection between the victims but they all had 5 stab wounds, probably by a knife, as the autopsy concluded. There had to be some kind of meaning behind that and L was interested to find out what it was.

"What will you do?" Watari asked, breaking the long silence between them.

There was another short silence but then the old man heard through the speakers of his laptop; "Watari, prepare for this case. Get me Miss Okamura's phone number."

* * *

So the first chapter is done. I hope you guys liked it. I like introducing my OC in the story. ^^ I hope I'll be able to portray her character well just as I picture it my head, cause I want to make a complex one. And there's always L, an even more complex character with so many different layers. I have a feeling you need to read both novels, manga and watch the anime to really understand him and still it's hard to know what that guy is really thinking -.-' (But that's why I like him). He'll be tough to write in this story but I'll do my best. :)

Chapter 2 will be up next Wednesday. If anyone has any questions, comments or criticism, please leave a review or you can always message me; I'd really like to know what you guys think of the story (though I suppose it's still early. ^^').


	2. Chapter 2

**Mr. Nobody **by **BloodyMarryMe**

So I fished another chapter. I wasn't able to post it on Wednesday as I originally planned, though, but I wasn't too late. :) So the investigation continues with a few new leads or rather even more confusing puzzles. I hope you'll like it! Enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters but the OC, Okamura Celity and the plot is mine.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

"The brutal murders continue on. The Invisible Man strikes again; Police still in the dark." Clove read the headline of the latest article in the newspapers. He didn't sound pleased at all, which wasn't strange considering it will be his head on the plate if he doesn't find the killer soon. And these attacks by the Press weren't helping his situation.

"The Invisible Man, hm? I can see why…" Celity answered as she stood in the middle of the small apartment in East London. She was holding the pictures of the two dead bodies that used to be there. Now everything was cleaned up and there were no traces of the struggle or anything that happened here 18 days ago. Still, Celity could smell the faint smell of blood in the air. Even after more than 2 weeks it didn't go away. A faint smell of blood and something else. Celity tilted her head and walked around the room then went to the bedroom. The scent was stronger here but she couldn't find what she was looking for. She headed for the small bathroom. The light flickered when she switched it on and she saw her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She opened the mirror and saw what she was looking for. A small smirk appeared on her features. She recognized that scent, especially strong in the bedroom and she could guess why (she mostly noticed it in the bedroom anyway, considering Jessy's profession); it was the scent of that sweet perfume she found in Loren Bleak's room. The bottle in the mirror cabinet was the same. Just a coincidence? Maybe. Surely a lot of women used that brand and that perfume. It wasn't uncommon, especially among younger women but Celity didn't want to dismiss the fact that she found the same bottle in both women's apartments. At least that was some connection there. *_But the next victim was a man...Unless his wife is wearing it, there is no other connection.*_ Celity sighed. Still she will remember this small find.

But right now there were more important things to think about. "So did you find out the names of her clients? Did she have any close friends?" The girl asked as she returned to the living room and saw Clove grumbling some complains about the newspapers.

"We managed to find out where she worked and talked to some of her "friends" but they weren't really close so they didn't know anything much." Celity noticed Clove's tone changed as he called the women Jessy's friends with indicated they were collegues in Jessy's line of work rather than actual friends. The murdered girl didn't really have anyone she could call a real friend after all. In the meantime, Clove continued. "We managed to get a list of names that were visiting Jessy in exchange for not arresting the girls for their profession. One of the girls said three names on this list were of pretty suspicious men."

"Hm…then we'll check them out first but I'm not surprised there are suspicious-looking gentlemen among them. Most of them probably have business lives or families so of course they'd act secretive and nervous in order to not get caught." Celity sighed. _*Still, even this lead is better than nothing_.* She wasn't surprised Jessy didn't have much close friends. Tony was obviously a controlling type so he wouldn't let her socialize much.

"There's nothing much on Tony Rolling. A typical no-good scoundrel; drinking, fighting, loaning money and pimping out his girlfriend. I'm sure there are a lot of people who'd want him dead." Clove continued. The sound of disgust in his voice was evident.

Celity listened to the inspector's explanation while searching the house, starting from the front door then examining the whole living room where the bodies were found. She went to the bedroom again and looked around; it was pretty small and messy. Completely different from Loren Bleak's bedroom. *_Well at least we'll find a lot of DNA of Jessy's clients here…* _Celity's upper lip twitched in barely-shown disgust when she lifted the sheets off the bed trying not to touch it too much. Celity got on her knees and looked under the bed just in case. Nothing. No surprise there but she still wanted to check just in case.

She stayed sitting on the floor like that for a while with her knees tucked under her. "Invisible Man hm?" She mumbled before suddenly standing up and walking back to the living room. "Inspector!" She called out and almost bumped into the man as she exited the bedroom. She managed to stop herself on time.

Clove looked at her in surprise and confusion. "What is it?"

"Let's talk to the neighbors!" Celity proclaimed and didn't even wait for his answer. She grabbed his hand and started dragging him out of the apartment. The poor inspector almost lost his balance and fell as he was sharply turned and dragged away but luckily he was able to maintain it.

Celity dragged him to the apartment next door. On one side was an empty apartment but on the other was a single woman living with a 10 year-old girl. Celity stopped suddenly in front of the doors, making Clove almost bump into her. He grumbled at how he was being treated but Celity ignored him and knocked on the door. There was no answer and Celity hummed with narrowed eyes. She knocked again, louder, and put an ear to the door. Yep, she heard it, there were definitively sounds inside. Footsteps. But nobody was opening the door. Celity sighed. "How rude…" She murmured. She knocked again. "Mam, I know you're in there and it's alright, we just want to talk. We'll be brief." Celity knew the woman must've seen them coming and knew they were with the police so she didn't want to get involved. Still, Celity wanted answers and when Celity wanted something she made sure to get it.

Celity sighed. "Let's go, Clove, at least we saved our reward money." She turned around as if she was about to leave, pushing Clove with him who looked at her strangely and wanted to comment or ask what she was talking about but the girl gave him a hard stare to shut up. They didn't even make two steps from the door when they heard the lock click and the doors opened slightly with a creak. Celity stopped in her tracks, still turned to the doors with her back and smiled with satisfaction. She was actually surprised it was that easy but then remembered this was a poor neighborhood so of course a single mother would be interested in any money she could get.

True enough, a woman barely appeared behind the doors and looked at the two people with wary eyes. "Reward money?"

Celity turned in an instant, a friendly smile on her face. She didn't look like a part of a police force at all which helped in this case because the woman didn't seem to like police officers very much, but inspector Clove looked like a typical example of a policeman with his serious, never-relaxing attitude. The woman still looked at the couple suspiciously, despite Celity's friendly attitude. "Ah yes, we are giving reward money to anyone who has some information about this case. We wanted to talk about Jessy Stue and her boyfriend, perhaps you could tell us more about them."

"But the police already took my statement." The woman answered, still suspicious.

"Yes but I wanted to ask some additional questions that the police perhaps didn't ask. It's fine even if you just repeat what you said to the police. It's my experience that a lot of people remember additional information much later when they are in a calmer state of mind. You must've been in quite a shock when the bodies were discovered." Celity explained with a slightly worried and compassionate face. Inspector Clove looked at Celity, wondering who the hell was that suddenly compassionate and kind woman. Certainly not the Okamura Celity he knew.

However it seemed the woman relaxed a little because of the logical explanation she was given and opened the doors completely. Celity's sharp eyes couldn't help but notice the woman's tired and slightly underweight look or her weak posture with a dress that looked a bit too big and too old for her. "Alright. Come in." the woman said and let the two in her small apartment. The structure was the same as Jessy's but it looked even more cramped and messy with toys and clothes all over the place. "Mina's in school right now, so we can talk openly." The woman explained and sat at the table, gesturing for Celity and Clove to do the same.

Celity sat down across the woman. "Ah, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself; My name is Okamura Celity and I'm sure you've already met inspector Clove." Celity gave her name, out of habit putting the last name at the beginning as it was done in her home country of Japan. She gave the woman an encouraging and wondering look, so the woman would introduce herself as well. In truth, Celity already knew the woman's name from the file when she gave her statement but this way it seemed more informal and would make the woman relax more.

"Susan Willow. Nice to meet you." The woman answered and nodded to Celity and Clove. Surely enough, she seemed more relax now than a few minutes ago when she answered the door. "To be honest I wasn't that surprised when I heard there was a murder in the apartment next door."

Clove raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean?"

"Tony and Jessy were always arguing with each other and it wasn't a secret that he would beat her on some occasions. And all those sleazy, shady men she brought home…It was only a matter of time before something bad happened to one of them…though I was surprised that they were both murdered and by a serial killer no less! I know this isn't the safest neighborhood but for a serial killer to come here…" Susan didn't finish the sentence but she didn't have to anyway. Instead she said; "But I already talked to police and as I said before, I didn't see or hear anyone suspicious. Just the usual screams and shouts from them both."

"Can you tell me when the argument stopped?"

"Yes, around 1:15 in the morning. I know because Mina kept waking up and I was waiting for them to finally quiet down. I was just about to go there and tell them to shut up but then they quieted down."

"Hm, good thing you didn't or you would probably be dead too now." Celity commented in a complete calm manner as if she didn't just reveal a fact that made Susan's blood freeze in her veins.

"I-I suppose you're right." The woman said, still a bit in shock from the realization.

"Yes, I usually am." Celity said with a friendly smile and ignored Clove's sigh coming from her side. Before anyone could retort, Celity continued on; "About the men often coming to Jessy's apartment, was there a certain one that especially seemed suspicious or odd in any way to you?"

Susan took some time to think about it. "Hmm…well there were a few who really seemed strange to me. They would always try to hide their face and kept looking around like they're being watched. There were a few that came almost every day…regular customers I suppose." The last statement was said in a dark, ironic tone.

Celity leaned on her elbows and rested her chin on her hands like a child listening to a grown up's story would. _*Well it's not strange that they acted nervous and hid their faces; they would be in big trouble if they got recognized in that kind of situation. But that doesn't help us much.*_ "Did you ever hear or see Jessy argue with anyone else except Tony Rolling?"

"Hmm…no, not really. Well a few of those men would sometimes be too persistent and she would throw them out of her apartment. Yes, that happened a couple of times. I don't know what they would argue about though."

"I see…if you saw them, you think you could recognize them?" Clove was the first to ask what Celity was meaning to, earning him an annoyed look from the girl since she was interrupted. He didn't care though, he was getting bored just sitting there doing nothing yet he was the one who was in charge of this investigation.

"Probably, yes. But I don't know anything about them."

"When we find out their identities, we'll return with some pictures then." Clove said. He looked at Celity, expecting her to comment but then noticed she was quietly sitting there as if in thought.

Suddenly she looked up. "Miss Willow, does anyone live in the apartment directly below Jessy Stue's?" They were currently on the top floor and here the neighbors hadn't heard or seen anything out of the ordinary but perhaps the one below had. When she was in Jessy's apartment Celity noticed the floor boards squeaked very loudly since they were old. Perhaps the voices could be heard too then. Celity was now getting a bit irritated by the fact that nobody knew anything because screaming and shouting was a normal thing here. No wonder the killer had no problem doing his thing here. Even if somebody was being skinned alive the neighbors wouldn't think it strange and wouldn't call the police thinking it was none of their business.

Susan looked surprised for a second but then she thought about it. "Bellow…Hm, I don't think so."

Celity's face fell. *_So much for that plan.*_ She stood up. "Well thank you for your time. We'll probably come again and if you remember anything else, please do call." Celity took out her business card out of her pocket and handed it to the woman. She didn't really like giving away her business cards and phone number but she needed to for the case. To be honest Celity didn't want too much people to know she was a private investigator. That would only bring in more of those troublesome cases such as jealous wives wanting to trail their husbands and such. People usually called private detectives for those kinds of work but Celity never did one of those and never will as long as she had any pride as a detective- no, as a human being.

"Um…about the money for any information…?" Susan asked a bit warily.

"Why, of course!" Celity smiled almost scaring the woman with her cheerful attitude. "Inspector Clove, pay the woman."

"huh? Why me?!" The man protested. It's not like he had any funds given by his superiors in his wallet, only his own personal money, and he didn't want to just give his hard-earned money away.

"Because the reward money is for anyone who helps out with the police investigation and you are the police are you not? So it's only logical." Surprisingly enough, Celity's reasoning had no flaw. Well it wouldn't have if there actually was reward money promised to anyone, but that was a lie. However, if they told that to Susan Willow she would lose all trust in them and that would be bad if they needed any more info from her in the future. With that said, Clove had no choice but to pay Susan a 50£ bill out of his wallet. He put it back in his coat with a long and heavy sigh.

Susan smiled a little. "Thank you. Then, if I hear or remember anything else I'll give you a call."

Celity smiled back. "Please do."

With that, the two were out of the apartment and heading down the stairs again. Clove was once again grumbling about something but Celity just ignored him as she walked on with her usual smile on her face. Nothing could bring that woman out of balance. The thought only made Clove complain more.

Celity stopped suddenly when they arrived on the lower floor and in front of the apartment that was below Jessy's. It said 22B on the doors and there was no name on the metal bar on the doors indicating it was an empty apartment.

"There's no one living here, dear." A voice of an old woman was heard behind them and Celity turned around quickly, giving the woman a questioning look.

"Oh, it's the landlady." Clove said and nodded to the old woman in her late sixties as a greeting.

"I see, has it been unoccupied for long?" Celity said in hopes that there used to live someone there who knew Jessy and could maybe say more about her or her boyfriend.

A landlady gave her a thoughtful look that Celity didn't miss. It was the same look that Susan Willow gave her when she asked about this apartment. Was there someone living there after all?

"Actually, it sometimes seemed somebody did live here…But that's just a feeling I sometimes got when passing by the door." The landlady laughed a little. "Or maybe I'm just getting senile. No, I don't think anyone lived here for years."

Celity hummed at the information. "Is there a way to check out who lived here last?"

The landlady sighed a bit uncomfortable. "The truth is officers, I don't have contracts with my tenants and I only take rent in cash so…there probably aren't any records." Of course the landlady knew that way of doing things was illegal but it saved her tax money. A lot of landlords did the same and Clove wasn't in the mood to pursue that topic just now or arrest a 60+ year old lady. He'll turn a blind eye…this time.

Celity sighed in disappointment. She couldn't care less whether the landlady ran things legally or not but that fact would help her investigation a lot right now. She decided to let that go and focus on what she _could_ do right now. "Can I enter the apartment for a while?"

"Oh, of course, dear. Let me get the key." The landlady turned to leave.

Celity was getting a bit impatient and tried the doorknob even though she didn't expect it to be open. On her surprise, it was. The doors were unlocked. She exchanged a curious look with the inspector, before going in.

The first thing Celity noticed was that there was indeed furniture in the room but that wasn't so strange. The person last living here could've just left it when moving out. The furniture looked old but wasn't falling apart. A detail caught Celity's eye. There was a small stein on the dark carpet that was covering the hardwood floor of the whole living room. Celity knelt down and examined it closely. *_Is it…blood?*_ She looked up as a thought crossed her mind and sure enough, there was a small stain of blood on the ceiling. The blood must've soaked through the upper apartment's wooden floor all the way to this ceiling. There were a few wet spots from water, especially on the corners and walls near the windows. Celity could feel the moisture in the air, surely because of bad isolation. England was known to be a rainy country and when you have a lot of water and bad isolation you get mold and moisture. And that can ruin everything, even the walls of the building. Celity's attention fell back to a small dining table in the middle of the living room. She put a hand on it and felt its surface. _*With this moisture in the room and this furniture being here all these years unintended, it should be much more decayed and ruined than it really is.* _Celity walked over to one of the book shelves; there were no books but that's not what she was looking for. She put a finger on the shelf and swiped it across the wood like a mother inspecting if the child cleaned its room correctly. She was looking for dust and she found it. There _was_ a lot, but not as much as it should be. Not years of dust. _*Maybe the landlady comes and cleans up occasionally? But then she wouldn't be so thoughtful while thiking if someone lived here or not. How can a landlord be uncertain about that stuff anyway? That doesn't make sense.* _She walked to the kitchen in haste and opened all the cupboards and lastly the fridge. There were plates and glasses in the cupboards but there was nothing in the fridge, it was clean. However the fridge was working. It was still cooling. If there was nobody living here than the landlady had unnecessary expanses to pay every month. "How irresponsible…" Celity muttered absentmindedly as she felt the cool air of the refrigerator. If someone lived here not too long ago and moved without even turning of electricity or water, which was also running when Celity checked, they were a very irresponsible tenant. Surely the landlady would remember someone with such characteristics. Someone like that would usually be late with rent though Celity expected a lot of tenants in this apartment had that problem since they weren't exactly good with money. But the landlady said nobody lived here for years. That statement bothered Celity the most. Years…If it was unoccupied for a short while, even a few months, Celity could understand. But years…it just didn't fit in with what she discovered in the apartment.

Clove looked at Celity as she searched through the apartment, inspecting everything. He didn't know what she was looking for or what she was thinking at the moment but Clove recognized the expression on her face. It was her "serious" expression that she showed when she was deep in thought or bothered by something. Her ice-blue eyes were piercing thought everything and her lips formed a thin line. Celity was completely serious right now.

"Well somebody could've just forgotten to turn off the water for this apartment and plug out the refrigerator." Clove tried to explain. He didn't notice the detail about the still healthy wooden furniture nor the dust or rather lack of as Celity did.

Celity ignored Clove, which he always hated but he knew she didn't like to be interrupted while thinking or saying something. And right now she was thinking a lot. She went to the bedroom and saw no sheets on the bed. She was a bit surprised; she was kinda expecting to see them. She knelt down on the wooden floor, since here there was no carpet, and looked underneath. Nothing. She went to the work desk near the bed. It was a small room so the single bed and a desk was pretty much all that fit. The desk was empty, even the drawers. However, there was an ink bottle on the desk and a pen, one of those old-fashioned ones decorated with the big feather at the end. Celity smirked a little. *_How Shakespeare-like; though quite tacky if you ask me.*_ The woman opened the ink bottle and dipped the pen's tip in, just a little as to examining the black ink inside. It was still fresh. She once again swiped the dust as looked at her finger. *_By the amount of dust I'd say nobody lived here…for a month. A little more than a month at most.* _

The bathroom was no different. Nothing there, not even in the mirrored cupboard. _*But there was definitively somebody here…and recently. So how come nobody noticed. It doesn't make sense, this isn't such a big apartment and even if the tenants don't bother with the others' business they should still pass each other by.* _Celity closed her eyes as she felt slight frustration rise inside of her and she refused to let it show. She calmed down in matter of seconds and instead thought of everything carefully. All the files went through her head, all the facts on the victims and the murders. She felt like she was missing something…something important. This was apartment 22B…22B…." Just as Celity thought she got something, a familiar voice pierced through her mind and she opened her eyes suddenly, all her thoughts disappearing.

"Here it is dear-" The landlady came with a key but stood in surprise and confusion when she saw Celity and Clove already inside the apartment. "Oh, how did you-"

Celity noticed she was holding an opened notebook and noticed some names on it. "What's that?" She interrupted the landlady, looking at the paper.

"Oh this, well actually every time a new tenant comes, I write down their names and flat numbers here and also keep track of their rents, take notes and such. I remembered it so I thought it might help. Also look; there hadn't been anyone living in the flat 22B for more than 10 years." The landlady showed the notebook to Celity and Clove. The last tenant here was Louis McDarvy, who lived here 12 years ago and died here as well.

Celity sighed. "I see. Can I have that." The girl noticed the landlady's unsure face; she probably needed it. "Don't worry I'll make Clove here make a copy and send it to you so your records won't be lost." Celity gave the old lady her best reassuring smile. That was Celity for you; when she needed it she could be as sweet, friendly, scary, serious or anything else she wanted. Her masks were endless and flawless. It didn't matter to her which role she played, she played all of them perfectly.

The old lady seemed reassured enough and nodded with a smile. "Of course dear, here you are."

Clove on the other hand wasn't happy with that development. He wasn't an errand boy for goodness sake! He glared at Celity but the girl purposely ignored him. *_No matter, I'll just make O'Brian do it.* _It's good to be a chief inspector and have underlings after all.

"We should be going now." Celity said and nodded a good-bye to the landlady before heading down the stairs and out of the building in the street. She felt a bit refreshed after the outside air hit her face. It wasn't much better with all the smog around but she was getting sick with the stuffy, moldy air in the flat.

"Where to now?" Clove said in a serious and grouchy voice, behind her. It seems he was still angry at her for making him be an errand boy, and pay off the 'reward money' and pay a small fortune on today's breakfast…Actually he had a reason to be pissed at a lot today. And it wasn't even lunch time yet. Celity had to conceal her satisfied smile. At least she could be satisfied with successfully annoying the 'old man' as she called him, since the case wasn't really satisfying her much. But then again it was only her first day. However Celity was sure the killer would strike again and she wanted to catch him before he had the time to kill again. *_I'll have to find some kind of pattern between his killings, if he even has one.* _

Celity suddenly turned towards Clove with a serious face. "I'll need your help. Call someone from the forensics and tell them to dust for prints in that apartment 22B. I want to see if there was really someone living there not long ago."

Clove was a bit surprised when she suddenly turned to give his orders and started talking after minutes of silence. That woman just keeps surprising him even after 3 years, she's just too random for him. He sighed. "Right. Anything else?"

"Yes. It's time." Celity said completely serious.

"Time? For what?"

"For tea! Come on." She said and started walking through the streets and out of the neighborhood.

"What? Tea?" Clove was completely confused.

"Of course! Tea will relax us and we'll be able to think of our next move. Tea time is very important in an investigator's life…no, in a person's life in general!" Celity said moving her index finger high in the air as she stated matter-of-factly.

At times like this Clove didn't know was she serious or messing with him but he already learnt to just go along with her whims and fickleness. They always end up doing it her way anyway so what's the use in even trying to protest or understand it. Just accept it. That's what Clove learnt while working with Celity so he just sighed with resignation and walked along with the young woman.

~….~

L was playing with the gummy bears that were sprawled on the desk everywhere. He took one with only his index finger and thumb and bit off his head, then took another one in his other hand and repeated the process. He was looking at the papers for the current case he was starting to work on while munching on the gummy deliciousness.

_*Hmm,,,the first murder occurred of July, 6__th__. The second on the 18__th__ which is 12 days later, but then the third much sooner, on the 23,__rd__ which is only 5 days later. Why such a long period between the first two but such a short one between the 3__rd__ and the 2__nd__ killing?*_ L put the rest of the headless gummy bear in his mouth and chewed on it then put the other one too before even eating the first one completely. As always his legs were pulled up on the chair, with his knees close to his chest. *_And each body had exactly 5 stab wounds but only the second and third case also had the slit throat and were then stabbed after their death, Tony Rolling, however, didn't. He was just stabbed five times in the stomach and chest area.* _L repeated the facts in his mind. He didn't count Jessy Stue since he concluded she was killed by her boyfriend. _*Is the number of stabs a message? There has to be a reason why he always stabs them five times; there has to be some sort of a meaning behind it since he goes to the trouble of doing it after killing his victims already.* _The great detective put his thumb on his lips and pushed up his upper lip slightly. He was displaying his typical 'thinking pose'.

L then pressed 'enter' on his keyboard and another screen appeared, with the file of Roy Mungler, the second victim. A picture of Roy's body at the scene appeared on L's screen. Roy Mungler was a 43 year-old man with a wife and two daughters of 17 and 22 years. He was a typical salary man with family, friends and colleagues at work. Lovable and friendly. L found it hard to believe that Roy was murdered due to some revenge or hate against him. Such typical family guys were boring and plain; nobody would hate them so much to kill them. Still, L knew from experience that every serial killer has certain logic behind the choosing of his victims. Even the most random-looking serial killings have a reason behind them, why the killer chose exactly _that_ person, even if it was on some unconscious level. But what did a young man with a bad history, a single 32-year old woman and a middle-aged family man had in common? And there was one more thing that was constantly crossing L's mind; why was the killer in Jessy Stue's apartment in the first place? Did he follow Tony Rolling so he could kill him? But then why do it when the guy was at his girlfriend's place? Why not wait for a more convenient time when Tony was all alone; perhaps in his apartment? Both Loren Bleak and Roy Mungler were killed in their own homes when they were alone, so the killer obviously had a way and some skill with sneaking into their homes undetected.

There were many questions flying though L's mind and they had to be answered quickly, before the killer could strike again. L wanted to prevent the fourth murder from happening but to do so he had to either catch the killer or discover who the next victim would most likely be or at least where the murder would occur. Right now, the killer seemed too random to discover any of it but L knew there had to be a logical pattern in the killer's actions. And L will find them, he was sure of that.

* * *

So I hope you guys found this chapter interesting. There's not much action (yet) but then again, this is a crime story so it's more about the investigation and the thinking than action itself. Also, I hope it's not too boring, after all, I'm explaining all the trains of thoughts and reasoning behind each discovery or even just guesses so it might be a bit annoying? I don't know. :/ But I want it to be a real crime story as much as possible with a real investigation.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2. The next one should be out shorty. If there is anything you want to comment on or ask me, simply leave a review or message me! See ya soon! :D


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